Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi’s Rajya Sabha time period ends: A glance again at his 6 years in Parliament | India Information
5 min learnNew DelhiMar 17, 2026 03:20 PM IST
Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi’s six-year tenure as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha concluded on Monday. His time period, which started 4 months after his retirement from the Supreme Court docket, ended with a parliamentary document marked by restricted legislative engagement.
Bidding him farewell, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President of India C P Radhakrishnan praised him as a distinguished jurist who introduced “unparalleled authorized acumen” and “gravitas” to the Home’s discussions. The chairman famous that the Home would miss his “sensible counsel” and “measured interventions”.
Nonetheless, knowledge compiled by PRS Legislative Analysis reveals that Gogoi clocked an general parliamentary attendance of solely 53 per cent, a lot decrease than the nationwide common of 80 per cent for parliamentarians. Over his six-year time period, in response to his profile on the Rajya Sabha web site, he requested zero questions (the nationwide common for all parliamentarians is 270.2), launched no non-public member’s payments (nationwide common for Parliamentarians being 1.3) and took part in only a single debate (corresponding nationwide common – 156.1).
His sole parliamentary speech got here in August 2023 throughout the dialogue on the Authorities of Nationwide Capital Territory of Delhi (Modification) Invoice, a chunk of laws that gave the Union Authorities management over Delhi’s paperwork. Talking in favour of the Invoice, Gogoi made headlines by questioning the fundamental construction doctrine—a foundational authorized precept articulated by the Supreme Court docket in 1973 that restricts Parliament from altering the core options of the Structure. He termed the doctrine as having a “very debatable jurisprudential foundation”—a comment that stood in distinction along with his personal previous judgments upholding the precept whereas serving within the Supreme Court docket.
Gogoi’s entry into Parliament in March 2020, months after he demitted workplace because the chief justice of India, raised eyebrows. He’s solely the second former CJI to turn into a Rajya Sabha member. The primary such CJI, Justice Ranganath Misra, was elected to the Higher Home in 1998, seven years after retiring from the Supreme Court docket.
‘Name for service’ and ‘nation-building’
Whereas critics and a number of other former judges questioned Gogoi’s nomination as a post-retirement profit that undermined the independence of the judiciary, the Bar Council of India backed the nomination. In a press launch, it hailed this as an excellent alternative to construct a “bridge between the Legislature and Judiciary”, permitting lawmakers to listen to the first-hand views of the judiciary. On the time, Gogoi defended his acceptance of the membership nomination by terming it as a “name for service…on my space of specialisation” and an avenue to foster cooperation between the legislature and the judiciary for “nation-building”.
In his memoir, Justice for the Decidehe wrote that he accepted the nomination as a result of he needed to lift points referring to the judiciary and the Northeast area—Gogoi is from Assam—in Parliament.
Covid, Home disruptions and ‘various contributions’
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Over time, the previous chief justice has provided numerous causes for his sparse parliamentary attendance. In a tv interview in 2021, Gogoi attributed his low attendance to Covid restrictions and discomfort with the dearth of social distancing and seating preparations inside Parliament. He additionally asserted his independence as a nominated member, stating that he was not ruled by any social gathering whip and attended the Home by his personal selection.
Extra lately, in an interview with a information outlet, Gogoi pointed to frequent disruptions within the Home as a deterrent to his participation. Emphasising that he was “not an expert politician” who wanted to make a mark for profession development, he famous that he didn’t consider in asking questions merely for the sake of it.
As an alternative, Gogoi highlighted his various contributions as a parliamentarian by way of addressing international delegations and legislation enforcement companies on constitutional issues, in addition to utilizing his parliamentary wage to fund scholarships for legislation college students.
Throughout his tenure, in response to the Rajya Sabha web site, Gogoi was a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Personnel, Public Grievances, Legislation and Justice from September 2024 onwards. He had additionally been a member of the Committee on Exterior Affairs between July 2020 and September 2021 after which once more from Might 2022 to June 2024, and of the Committee on Communications and Info Know-how from September 2021 until Might 2022.
On the time of his retirement, he was additionally a member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Legislation and Justice, which he joined in October 2024, and of the India-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group, which he joined in February 2026.